Mental Health

While we can’t ever have concrete and solidified evidence like numbers to measure how much we’ve changed in the past year, we can always start a conversation with ourselves and the ones that we’ve found to have our back.

Spending time in nature has had a powerful healing effect on my mental and physical health. It provides an opportunity to disconnect from technology, gain perspective on our lives and connect with the world around us.

I embarked on this journey this semester of exposure therapy, in which I aim to do the opposite of what I would normally do or want to do. This was all in an effort to confront all my anxious thoughts and to remind myself that creating this illusion of romanticism being the only remedy to reality is not a sustainable mindset. 

These are the changes to my daily habits that I want to implement so that I not only prevent burnout again after the break but also finish the semester strong and with confidence while caring for my mental health.

As a college student, getting enough rest can be a challenge due to a packed schedule and endless responsibilities. However, it’s crucial for staying healthy and performing at your best.

If there’s anything I can take away from this point in the year, it’s that to be at a mentally more fulfilling place, I would have to swallow some tough pills — metaphorically, of course.

I know I’m burnt out when I suddenly feel this sense that I am a ghost in my own life. It happens when things are happening so fast around me and I have so much to worry about, I don’t feel like I have any control over the events of my existence.

We need a broad, unified response to this issue from the student body to even catch campus’s attention. This is why we are asking each and every student and ally to sign the petition demanding that UC Berkeley support students taking critically needed mental health breaks.

Although it’s taken some time, I’ve realized silence isn’t really the problem. Rather, it’s how I react to silence. I’m in control of how my mind reacts to silent moments and how my mind decides to treat me.

I know, it can be hard to paint yourself as the antagonist at times, but we all have more room to grow. The Clog has some questions you can ask yourself when you're feeling a little indecisive about your role in all of this.